Speaker with acoustic damped port

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices for improving speaker performance with an acoustic damped port are disclosed. In accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, a damping material is placed around a vented frame of a speaker driver, and substantially covers or fills the vents of the frame. In some embodiments, the damping material results in improved impedance matching with acoustic delay, without required dimensional tuning (as with conventional ports). In some embodiments, it also reduces the air velocity gradients minimizing higher order frequency distortion components. In some embodiments, the damping material also acts as an absorber of energy by coupling to the sound wave. In some embodiments, low-frequency performance is improved in a small-scale design.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates generally to the field of acoustics, and more particularly to systems, methods, and devices for improving speaker performance with an acoustic damped port.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]The frequency range of human hearing is generally considered to be between approximately 20 Hz and approximately 20 kHz. Human speech typically falls within the range of approximately 100 Hz to approximately 8 kHz. In conventional telephony, the frequency band is truncated outside a range from approximately 300 Hz to approximately 3400 Hz. More recently developed technologies such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), however, allow for a wider frequency range.[0005]It is difficult to make one speaker driver that reproduces sound waves over the entire frequency range of human hearing. Speaker units therefore typically divide a wide frequency range among multiple drivers. Most high-fidelity sp...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a speaker design that overcomes the limitations of prior art. The invention includes a compact speaker with a damping material placed around the vented frame of a speaker driver, which improves impedance matching and reduces distortion. The damping material also acts as an absorber of energy by coupling to the sound wave. The speaker driver has a forward portion coupled to a surround and a diaphragm, and a rear portion with one or more vents. The damping material substantially covers each of the vents, and the speaker driver is enclosed in a housing. The invention also includes a method of manufacturing the speaker driver and a system for audio conferencing with the speaker design. The technical effects of the invention include improved sound quality, reduced air velocity gradients, and improved low-frequency performance in a small-scale design.

Problems solved by technology

It is difficult to make one speaker driver that reproduces sound waves over the entire frequency range of human hearing.

Speaker enclosures exhibit low-frequency responses and distortion, and are limited by their volume as they interact with the speaker driver.

It would be desirable to extend the low-frequency limit and reduce distortion, but this is very limited by the available enclosure volume.

This poses a problem when small size is desired.

Different driver designs can help, but are ultimately hampered by the enclosure size.

However, each of these methods still has problems as the enclosure sizes get even smaller.

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